State House Dome: GOP senator could be first of many with primary foe

May 24—FIRST-TERM state Rep. Emily Phillips, R-Fremont, became the first Republican to declare she would oppose a sitting state senator this fall — three-term Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown.

"For too long the state Senate has ignored the will of the voters, pandered to lobbyists, and been the body in which good bills go to die; that needs to change, and I am in this race to make sure that happens," Phillips said.

As a prominent supporter of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's presidential campaign, Gannon might have expected a conservative to run against him.

Phillips sponsored legislation to keep infant circumcision from being covered under Medicaid (HB 1683) and to provide parents with informed consent before the procedure (HB 1706). Both attracted some bipartisan support but died in the House in March.

Gannon may not be the only senator with company on the Sept. 10 GOP primary ballot.

Not a single Senate Republican endorsed former President Donald Trump before the first-in-the-nation presidential primary here.

That could give potential challengers a big talking point in the state primary.

Many House conservatives are hopping mad at the Senate for voting to cut the Education Freedom Accounts expansion bill (HB 1665) from 500% to 400% of the federal poverty level, up from 350%.

Had they endorsed the House bill, it would have gone to Gov. Chris Sununu, who pledged to sign it.

Now it faces a showdown vote in the House, where it passed by a single vote in February, with Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, breaking a tie.

Some liberty-minded Republicans also are up in arms over Senate votes to dismiss legislation to prevent deployment of National Guard troops to undeclared war theaters and the Senate's total rewrite of the legalized marijuana bill.

Running to the right of Gannon won't be easy. He played the lead role in anti-sanctuary city legislation, along with other bills to crack down on those in the U.S. illegally.

Conservative activists were openly seeking candidates to run against Senate Majority Leader Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry; Majority Whip Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead; and Sen. Denise Ricciardi, R-Bedford.

It will be no layup to beat any of that trio, all of whom have close ties to retiring Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro. None has ever faced faced a serious attempt to take them out in the primary.

Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry, filed papers for a political committee with Secretary of State David Scanlan's office recently, leading some to conclude she might decide to take on Birdsell.

On Thursday, Layon appealed to her House colleagues after the Senate indefinitely postponed (aka killed) a bipartisan bill she had worked on dealing with information provided to sexual assault survivors about their rights (HB 378).

Layon tried to revive the bill and attach it to one providing for voluntary certification for doulas or lactation service providers (SB 337).

"We need to send this message that women are important and deserve to be heard," Layon said, calling the Senate action indefensible.

"This body has an equal seat at the table."

The House disagreed, voting 185-164 against Layon's amendment.

Layon could not be reached for comment on a possible state Senate run.

Scanlan, Formella's DC tour

Attorney General John Formella and Scanlan spoke to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence this past week about the state's efforts to crack down on robocalls and deepfakes.

Gov flips on casinos

A year makes a difference.

In the spring of 2023, Sununu vetoed a two-year extension of charity casinos' exclusive right to slot-machine-like historic racing machines. At the time, Sununu said this was government "picking winners and losers," which is not in the state's pro-free enterprise tradition.

The outgoing governor had a change of heart.

Without comment, he signed legislation (SB 472) to give up to 18 businesses a seven-year extension on exclusivity, out to 2031. That applies to the 14 charity casinos currently open and another four that applied for new licenses during 2023.

The same bill also permits host communities to get their own gambling dates at these casinos, but only in the unlikely event that nonprofits don't take them all first.

Tightening up refunds

In another sign of state business tax revenues flattening out, the Senate late in the week voted to dramatically change a mandate that the state provide tax refunds to firms holding onto unused credits.

The current state budget called for triggers for both the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax to kick in for 2026, requiring the state to refund to businesses anything over 250% of their owed liability. In 2028, the refunds must be sent out for anything over 100%.

Senate Ways and Means Chairman Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, persuaded his colleagues to move those dates out four years, to 2030 and 2032.

If you need more proof of a trend, the Senate also shipped off to study all three House-passed bills that would have granted tax breaks under the Business Profits Tax.

One would have eliminated any limit on net operating losses (HB 450) that can be claimed (a $5 million hit on the budget), another would have enhanced the so-called "safe harbor" exemption from the tax (HB 1533), and the third would have doubled the expense deduction (HB 1536) for businesses that is allowed under the current code (a $4.7 million revenue loss).

Biden's NH Gaza problem

The good news for President Joe Biden from a University of Massachusetts Lowell poll was that he clung to a narrow lead, 42% to 36%, over Trump, with 11% for Robert F. Kennedy, 2% for other and 9% undecided.

The real bad news is how Biden's handling of the war between Israel and Hamas is crippling his ability to grow that support. Among all surveyed, 65% said they were likely or somewhat likely not to vote for Biden because of the issue. That number goes up to 72% among the pivotal independent or swing voter bloc.

The University of New Hampshire Survey Center late in the week had it even tighter, with 44% for Biden to 41% for Trump, 3% for RFK and the rest unsure or in support of even lesser-known candidates.

Conflict of interest rules on the way

At long last, the New Hampshire Legislature appears ready to adopt ethical standards regarding when lawmakers must refrain from voting because of a conflict of interest.

Currently, lawmakers are free to disclose that such a conflict exists while still exercising their right to vote on the matter and even trying to influence the outcome.

That won't be the case any longer under a proposal, HB 1388, which appears to have bipartisan and bicameral support.

The policy would mandate that lawmakers recuse themselves if they or a household member were paid by an entity, they had a "substantial influence" over that organization's operation, and the interest in question tried to lobby or otherwise influence legislation.

All state budgets and revenue bills would be exempt from this recusal mandate.

Some states are more restrictive when it comes to recusal, but the proposal clearly would be an significant improvement to the status quo.

The Senate passed the compromise on its consent calendar. Word is House leaders from both parties are on board to concur with it.

The plan has many parents, but chief among them are House Legislative Administration Committee Chairman Greg Hill, R-Andover; Vice Chair and bill sponsor Victoria Sheehan, R-Milford; and Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee Chair Howard Pearl, R-Loudon. The Legislative Ethics Committee authorized Chairman Ned Gordon of Bristol to testify recently in support of it.

Early union endorsement

Manchester School Committee Vice Chairman Jim O'Connell picked up an important endorsement of his Democratic bid for the District 4 Executive Council seat.

The Teamsters Local 633 got behind O'Connell.

Teamster Principal Officer Jeff Padellaro credits O'Connell with leading the charge to create a minimum $15-an-hour wage for Manchester school employees.

Bedford Town Councilor Michael Strand already was seeking the Democratic nomination before Councilor Ted Gatsas, R-Manchester, decided not to run again.

Name GOPers back Stephen

Former Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen of Manchester continues to attract establishment support for his GOP bid to succeed Gatsas.

Executive Councilors Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, and David Wheeler, R-Milford, have gotten on board, along with former two-time GOP nominee for governor Ovide Lamontagne of Manchester; ex-Londonderry Town Manager Kevin Smith; Trump campaign leader Bruce Breton; former House Deputy Speaker Kim Rice; GOP Reps. Robert Lynn of Windham and Dan McGuire of Epsom; and Rockingham County Sheriff Chuck Massahos.

The GOP field includes GOP Vice Chair and former State Board of Education member Ryan Terrell of Lee; Bob Burns of Manchester, the 2022 GOP nominee in the 2nd Congressional District; former state Sen. John Reagan of Deerfield; Loudon nurse and conservative activist Terese Grinnell Bastarache; and Manchester Alderman Ross Terrio.

No first-in-the-nation in Constitution

The House of Representatives blocked a proposed amendment to put enshrinement of the state's first-in-the-nation presidential primary in the Constitution on the ballot for voters this fall.

The 195-165 vote on the Senate-passed proposal (CACR 22) fell 21 votes shy of the 60% supermajority needed for an amendment.

House Deputy Speaker Steve Smith, R-Charlestown, tried in vain to convince House Democrats to drop their opposition, saying it's appropriate given how hard both parties fought to keep New Hampshire's first spot in January.

Smith said both national political parties have tried in the past to knock the state off the pedestal.

"I am not afraid of the answer if we put this on the ballot. The people of New Hampshire have earned this right for decades," Smith said.

But Rep. Russell Muirhead, D-Lyme, said he feared such an amendment would fail to get the necessary two-thirds vote before a polarized electorate.

"It's not easy in today's politics to get 65% support for anything," Muirhead said.

Fourteen House Democrats backed the provision, including Reps. Peter Leishman and Jonah Wheeler of Peterborough. Six Republicans opposed it, including Reps. Michael Harrington of Strafford and Fred Plett of Goffstown.

Monadnock for Van Ostern

Democratic congressional candidate Colin Van Ostern of Concord announced another 50 activists from the Monadnock Region are backing his candidacy.

They include former Massachusetts congressman Chet Atkins of Hancock, former Keene Mayor Kendall Lane, Cheshire County Commissioner Bob Englund of Nelson, renowned filmmaker Ken Burns of Walpole and retired Keene business executive James Putnam.

Another union for Craig

The Communications Workers of America Local 1400 announced its support of former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig's Democratic bid for governor.

The union has 1,000 members in New England and 700,000 public and private sector workers in the U.S.

The union is the 16th to come out for Craig.

Kevin Landrigan is State House Bureau Chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Contact him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.